Do You Hear What I Hear? Jack Jones, Eddy Arnold, Mitch Miller Coming TOMORROW From Second Disc Records!

With Halloween now in the rearview window, decorations springing up everywhere and yuletide tunes on the radio, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go. Here at Second Disc HQ, we’re no exception. Tomorrow, November 4, we’re thrilled to spread some holiday cheer with three Second Disc Records releases as part of Real Gone Music’s amazing 10-strong (yes, 10 titles!) Christmas line-up! All three titles feature new-to-CD tracks, copious liner notes, original album and label artwork, rare photographs, and sparkling remastering from the master tapes! We can’t wait to share these season’s greetings with you!

First up is the CD debut one of the most-demanded holiday albums of all time. For more than six decades, Jack Jones has been celebrated as one of America’s most legendary vocalists. Frank Sinatra called him “one of the major singers of our time,” while Paul Williams noted, “He doesn’t perform a song; he lives it.” Williams would know, as one of the writers of Jones’ immortal theme to The Love Boat. But “The Love Boat” and beloved hits like “Wives and Lovers” and “Lollipops and Roses” merely scratch the surface of Jones’ remarkable career. One of the crown jewels of his impressive discography is 1964’s The Jack Jones Christmas Album. On the Kapp Records release–arranged and conducted by the great Marty Manning–Jones wrapped his velvet pipes around some of the most cherished Christmas favorites of all time. Lush renditions of “White Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” are among the most beautiful ever recorded, while Jones’ renditions of “Sleigh Ride,” “My Favorite Things,” and Frank Sinatra’s “Mistletoe and Holly” truly swing. Unbelievably, a CD release has always eluded this fan-favorite holiday perennial…until now! Our Second Disc Records/Real Gone Music edition has been remastered by Mike Milchner from the original stereo tapes lovingly housed in the Universal Music vaults, and features my own liner notes. John Sellards has beautifully designed all three of our releases this year including The Jack Jones Christmas Album, with meticulously-recreated original artwork for each and every title. This is truly one Christmas album that belongs in every family’s collection!

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Earlier this year, we were proud to bring some of Eddy Arnold’s rarest music to light on CD with the release of Each Road I Take: The 1970 Lee Hazlewood and Chet Atkins Sessions! Now we’re returning to Eddy’s songbook with a special seasonal treat. “Music for the holiday – sung with taste and authority!” That’s how RCA Victor described the 1962 release Christmas with Eddy Arnold, the superstar entertainer’s first holiday album. Whether the style was country or pop, Eddy Arnold always sang with taste and authority – as well as tremendous warmth and a big heart. Between 1945 and 2008, “The Tennessee Plowboy” notched 147 U.S. chart hits, sold over 85 million records, and earned inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame and The Grand Ole Opry. The music of Christmas was near and dear to Arnold’s heart, and between 1949 and 1967, he recorded two dozen holiday favorites for the RCA Victor label. Now, we have compiledevery one of those seasonal sides on The Complete RCA Victor Christmas Recordings, including the complete Christmas with Eddy Arnold album produced by Chet Atkins and featuring Nashville’s finest musicians. This first-ever compendium of Eddy Arnold’s yuletide music boasts his own “C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S” and “Will Santy Come to Shanty Town,” along with Boudleaux Bryant’s “Christmas Can’t Be Far Away” and family favorites such as “Up on the Housetop,” “Winter Wonderland,” “White Christmas” and “Jingle Bell Rock” – all rendered in the timeless, smooth Arnold style. Rare, never-before-on-CD singles and special holiday greetings from Eddy himself round out this definitive collection with never-before-seen photographs from the Sony Music Archives and my new liner notes. Every track has been newly remastered by Grammy Award winner Mark Wilder at Sony’s Battery Studios.The Complete RCA Victor Christmas Recordings is one high-spirited stocking stuffer you won’t want to miss!

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Last but certainly not least, Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music are revisiting one of the most successful Christmas albums of all time! Are you ready to sing along with Mitch? Between 1961 and 1964, Mitch Miller invited television audiences to “follow the bouncing ball” as he conducted his cheerful chorus on musical favorites of every kind. Miller’s television show was an offshoot of his hit series of Columbia “Sing Along” LPs, which were just one of the avenues by which Miller practically defined popular tastes in the ’50s and early ’60s. At Columbia Records, the onetime child prodigy and trained oboe player nurtured the careers of Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, and Doris Day, and established the role of the producer in pop music. His reach even extended to young children, as he spearheaded the Golden Records label. In 1958, Mitch Miller & The Gang released one of their most enduring albums: the original Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch featuring rousing renditions of beloved carols including “Silent Night,” “Deck the Halls,” “The First Noel” and “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.” Surprisingly, this classic LP–which went to No. 1 on the charts and hit the Top Ten for three straight years after that—has never seen a complete, authorized reissue on CD anywhere in the world. Now, this family sing-along gem is finally arriving on CD in a deluxe, expanded reissuesporting the original, classic cover art! And that’s not all. Eight rare bonus tracks, many appearing for the first time on CD, have been added to Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch. You’ll hear spirited versions of the Broadway favorites “Be a Santa” and “Pine Cones and Holly Berries,” as well as the original recording of “Must Be Santa,” a favorite of none other than Bob Dylan! Mitch also offers “Season’s Greetings” and “Auld Lang Syne” from a long out-of-print holiday collection. This deluxe edition has my new liner notes as well as those from the original LP, rare photos from the Sony Music Archives, and of course, the lyrics for you to sing along! Maria Triana at Sony’s Battery Studios has sparklingly remastered from the original tapes!

The Jack Jones Christmas Album, Eddy Arnold’s The Complete RCA Victor Christmas Recordings, and Mitch Miller & The Gang’s Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch are coming TOMORROW from Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music! Pre-order links for the three titles are available below!

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Peggy Lipton, Doris Day, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders.
In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and his work still appears with frequency in the magazine. In 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.
Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as The Supremes, Melissa Manchester, Laura Nyro, Bobby Darin and Johnny Mathis, legendary producer Bob Crewe, soul legend Wilson Pickett, and many others.
Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

Has anyone released a decent edditiin of Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” album? I bought one on CD several years ago, but all the tracks seemed to fade in and out, as if trying to hide evidence of having been taken from an LP source. Have you considered releasing a definitive reissue?

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